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I think many of the international students start concerning about internships and jobs when they start their junior years (of course, there are some who start worrying about those when they are freshman and I say that is just fine too!). And I know a lot of them get stressed while thinking about these “adult-life” stuffs. Especially as international students, they are worried if they will be able to even find the positions that they can be hired for. Trust me, I have been there and I know how stressful it is. BUT, it is not as stressful as you think once you really start to look up for positions. Here is my story of finding an internship and getting it!

Where did I find out about this internship?

AT THECAREER FAIR! There are so many resources that our school offers regarding internships and jobs. One of the best resources that you can use is CAREER FAIR! U of M offers career fairs both in the fall and in the spring, but the spring one is bigger. There are so many companies coming to recruit students from our school. You just need to show up in proper attire with your resume and look for companies that interest you. OR, you can do a simple research before going to the career fair so that you can have a good conversation with the people from the company you want and leave a good impression on them. Even if you have no idea what company you want, I highly recommend you to go to the career fair because that experience helps you to prepare better for the future!

What did you do after career fair?

Here is the real thing. So after career fair, I went home and picked several companies that I wanted to have an internship at. Then I emailed the recruiters of those companies with thank you note – something like, “Thank you for having a conversation with me at the career fair today”, “I hope to work at your company in the near future”, “I really think I am a good candidate for your company”, etc. Then, the recruiters wanted me to send my resume and cover letter to them. I did it, then I did the interviews, and boom! I became the new intern!

What do you do at your work?

Well, this will vary depending on your positions at work. I am a programs and evaluations intern at my work, so I mostly evaluate the programs that the company offers to educators by entering the evaluation data, summarizing it, and analyzing it. Here is a picture of me working! (I tried to take pictures at my workplace, but it was so awkward to take them…so just me haha)

If you have any questions about finding an internship/ curious abour working environment in the States/ or just anything related to any of the contents, reach out to me with your questions and I'll be happy to answer them! :)